NAHMA HUD Update Final Rule Quid Pro Quo and Hostile Environment Harrassment

September 20, 2016

HUD's Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity issued its final rule concerning "Quid Pro Quo and Hostile Environment Harassment and Liability for Discriminatory Housing Practices Under the Fair Housing Act." This final rule builds upon the 2015 proposed rule of the same name.
 
Through this final rule, HUD will amend its fair housing regulations to formalize standards for use in investigations and adjudications involving alleged harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status or disability under the Fair Housing Act. The rule specifies how HUD will evaluate complaints of quid pro quo (''this for that'') harassment and hostile environment harassment; it does so by defining ''quid pro quo harassment'' and ''hostile environment harassment'' and by specifying the standards to be used to evaluate whether particular conduct creates a quid pro quo or hostile environment.
The major provisions of this rule include:
  •  Formalized definitions of ''quid pro quo harassment'' and ''hostile environment harassment'' under the Fair Housing Act.
  • Formalized standards for evaluating claims of quid pro quo and hostile environment harassment under the Fair Housing Act.
  • Illustrations of prohibited quid pro quo and hostile environment harassment to HUD's existing Fair Housing Act regulations; and
  • Identifications of traditional principles of direct and vicarious liability applicable to all discriminatory housing practices under the Fair Housing Act, including quid pro quo and hostile environment harassment
 Upon issuing this rule, HUD's Office of General Counsel (OGC) issued the following guidance: "Application of Fair Housing Act Standards to the Enforcement of Local Nuisance and Crime-Free Housing Ordinances Against Victims of Domestic Violence, Other Crime Victims, and Others Who Require Police or Emergency Services." This guidance was issued in order to explain how the Fair Housing Act applies to ensure that the growing number of local nuisance ordinances and crime free housing ordinances do not lead to discrimination in violation of the Fair Housing Act. It primarily focuses on the impact these ordinances may have on domestic violence victims.
  
When the 2015 Quid Pro Quo proposed rule was issued, NAHMA submitted comments to HUD regarding several provisions in the proposed rule. NAHMA will compare our comments against the final rule in a forthcoming.